Smaller parties trying to end domination of big four

Could 2011 be the year when Wales’ four biggest political parties are forced to make room in the assembly for a smaller rival? BBC Wales political reporter Daniel Davies looks at the smaller parties contesting the election on 5 May.

All but one of the 60 members in the last assembly came from Labour, the Conservatives, the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru.

The other, independent Trish Law, is not standing again this year.

Will the stranglehold of the big four be broken on 5 May?

Many of the smaller parties are concentrating their efforts on the 20 regional seats. Among them are the Wales Green Partywhich is trying to persuade Labour supporters to use their second vote to go Green. Their leader Jake Griffiths tops the party’s regional list in south Wales central where he hopes to become the party’s first AM.

The party is offering a Green New Deal it says would create 50,000 jobs in a low-carbon economy. It is also offering a free insulation programme, aiming to insulate 40,000 homes a year.

Since the 2009 European election, the UK Independence Party (Ukip) has had a foothold in Welsh politics, through MEP John Bufton. It would get MPs to do the work of AMs, but Nathan Gill, who is standing in the north Wales region, hopes to be Ukip’s first AM.

Although Ukip says Wales is over-governed, it does not want to abolish the assembly. Instead, it argues it should be “renewed” in what it says would be a far less costly form.

I was driving around Cardiff Bay which is the main offices of The EU’sRegional seat of government that UKIP believes it MAY play a part in. It is incredible just how seedy and decrepid the entire area is with its pretentious buildings and shoddy finishing, its litter and its look of desertion with so many shops and businesses closed due to mismanagement.

The journey into Velindre in Rush hour last week was actually quieter with so much unemployment than during the day last Wednesday for my chemo!

Minded of just how recent was the imposition of devolved irresponsibility – for there is absolutely no doubt that the vote to create the scam was both dishonest AND rigged and the recent referendum was so poorly attended that its outcome had ZERO moral validity.

You may remember that in order to raise the profile of debate and also to show just how stupid Welsh Politicians are to a man I registered: CLICK HERE

I fear UKIP are misguided on the issue of Welsh Politics but they have no serous vision for Wales least of all when you consider Nigel Farage’s imposition of a chum as lead candidate in a General Election:

A measure of the contempt in which Farage holds UKIP Wales was not only that he foist his drinking buddy Dai Llewellyn on the party shortly prior to his death from drink related disease but that he kept the odious Jim Carver in position stifling any progress until he was finally removed by Richard Suchorzewski after a long period of stagnation with Carver as Regional Organiser selling his umbrellas rather than building UKIP Wales.

Now without ANY meaningful consultation Farage has imposed a divisive pro Assembly policy as a reformer and not as a withdrawalist from The EU – leading to the fracturing of UKIP Wales with John Bufton MEP Wales effectively gazumped by Farage and left out of the Party attempt at a policy launch!

That UKIP believes it is likely to have ANY impact in the upcoming election in Wales when it is so disjointed and its web site failed even to address either the fact that its MEP had had a stroke before Christmas and clearly whilst John Bufton was trying to recover to rejoin the gravy train clearly NO ONE in Wales did a stroke of work and the imbecilic and ill mannered Regional Organiser Kevin Mahoney just alienated what supporters there were and drifted as a freeloader doing NOTHING of value.

There was not even a statement of the Party policy on the recent Referendum in Wales and no visible presence!

Now there is the myth being put about that UKIP will get an Assembly Member, when it wishes effectively (well Farage does) to dismantle the assembly and reform it. The claim is that with 5% of the vote across Wales that will earn an Assembly Member – well sadly not or they MIGHT have had SOME chance but with the 6.8% target as I believe it is the chances become slim so young Nathan Gill is unlikely to get his place on the gravy train as unliklely as his Mum who I THINK is also standing in North Wales!

IF John Bufton MEP has ANY integrity and in the light of Farage’s shameful behaviour I can see him leaving the squalid EFD Group as soon as the elections are over to try to make himself sufficiently credible that he may have a role in future elections in Wales as UKIP withers..